Walter
Standard Poodle
Tamarack’s Walter of Wonder
DOB: 7/31/2024
Brown Phantom
Health
We’ve completed health testing and Primrose is clear, providing her puppies with a wonderful, healthy start to their life genetically.
Clear on:
- DM
- GM2
- Intervertebral Disc Disease
- Osteochondrodysplasia
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy
- Encephalopathy
- Von Willebrands
Pending Tests (for when he’s of age):
- Hips (PennHip & OFA)
- Elbows (OFA)
- Cardiac (EKG & Echo Auscultation)
- Ophthalmic
- Patella
Color Genetics:
kyky/bb/DD/atat/EmE/mm
Personality
He’s your All-American pup. He loves to play hard, but also melts into your arms. He is very balanced, enjoying moments of playfulness and exuberance, but also naps hard and loves to be held. He’s very in tune with people and we believe he has great potential.
Why He's in the Program
Over the past few years, we’ve build a nice relationship with Red Paw Farm in North Carolina. She specializes in therapy dogs and we’ve loved the temperament and personality that’s coming from their lines. He’s also slightly lower energy than the standard poodle, making it easier for him to focus in training.
Why We Love Him
Walter is a dream dog. As a puppy he passed all his puppy tests with flying colors. He was very touch tolerant, which is a way breeders help evaluate dogs and their ability to be handled. As much as we believe in respecting a dog’s space, when it comes to therapy and service work, having a dog who has a greater tolerance to being handled makes the process easier. In our case, Walter LOVES to be handled.
We also tested his ability to handle new sights and sounds, looking for an appropriate reaction (ideally you want a dog who will react to new things, but not in a dangerous or over-excitable way), Walter was ideal, noting the new sights and sounds, but being curious about them rather than afraid of them.
We also look for strong trainability, with Walter, again, was incredible at. He had consistent recall, meaning he liked to come back to spend time with humans. He also rated high on trainability, which is a combination of not only intelligence and being able to learn, but also a willingness to work with humans in the process.
In the end, we couldn’t be happier with Walter and we are so excited to see the legacy he’ll bring to Tamarack.
Ready for a Puppy?
The best way to start the process is with a puppy application. We pride ourselves on helping you find the right puppy for your family, the puppy application helps us better understand your needs. There are no right or wrong answers.